Cure for Baldness? Stem Cells Help Mouse Grow Hair

An article in Nature this week reports that Tokyo University of Science researchers have used stem-cell therapy to grow hair, or at least a scruffy patch of the stuff, on the back of a hairless mouse.

Scientists created a seed of hair by combining the two basic cells found in the skin of a normal mouse and then inserted the seed into the skin of the follicley-challenged rodent. Sure enough, a patch of hair grew, shed, and regrew, just like normal hair. The area could even get goose bumps.

But don't toss out your toupee quite yet. Stem-cell therapy isn’t quite ready to give Andre Agassi his mane back. It is currently untested on humans and, being an extremely esoteric treatment, would only be affordable by Daddy Warbucks. Or Donald Trump.